Send a Billing Request to Xero

If you are a Service Provider or Trader with access to a consignment, you can send a billing request to the cloud based accounting system Xero from Accord.

Make sure the Xero integraion is enabled - if not refer to Configure Xero as an External Accounting System.

1. From the Consignment View screen click on the desired consignment to view its details.
2. Once you are viewing a consignment, click on Billing tab
3. The following screen will be displayed automatically if this is the first time you are using Xero or it hasn't been accessed from Accord recently.
4. If so, click on the link to Connect to Xero so that you can enter your credentials and authorize the connection to Accord. 
5. The Billing Request page will open similar to this:
   

   NOTE: If there is already a billing request on Hold then it will be opened rather than a new one and if an import/export declaration exists then its charges and details are displayed automatically.

6. You can edit the billing request
   1. The Client Code is optional but if specified it must uniquely identify the Xero contact for the sales invoice. If the client does not have an existing code in your Xero contact list, you can allocate this code to him (it must be unique) by ticking the checkbox New Code. You can search and lookup client codes that have been added to Quoted Rates from the lookup button.
      
      When New Code is ticked the following dialog will display showing your Xero contacts. If the client is already setup in Xero as a contact then you can select them from the list. Doing so will ensure that the name matches with that in Xero and avoids having a duplicate contact be created for the client.
      If the client is not already setup in Xero then the 'New Client' button can be used. The contact will then be created in Xero when the billing request is submitted.
      
      
   2. The Client Name is required and may be changed. It will be used to match on the contact name (debtor) for the sales invoice if no code is specified and for new codes. If not matched then a new contact will be created in Xero.
   3. Payment Terms are required for 'Complete' billing requests (as detailed below) otherwise optional. They are used to determine the sales invoice's due date in Xero. They will be set automatically from Add Rates (see below) if applicable - if differing terms are encountered then the earliest is set and 'Mixed' is shown.
   4. Enter an Order no/Reference - this is optional. It will be set initially to the (first) order no for the consignment.
   5. The Invoice no has two parts. The first part is the billing reference which is used as the invoice no (you can modify it if necessary),  the second part is the sub-invoice number and you must ensure that it's unique in Xero for the sales invoice or there will be a duplication error when attempting to submit the billing request. Note that this limitation does not apply to cost invoices.
   6. Currency - the invoice currency defaults to your local currency and is shown in the totals line at the bottom. It may be changed to any valid currency and all sales and costs amounts will be submitted in this currency (NOTE that you will need the Multi-currency option in Xero to support this). There is also provision to specify a secondary currency for some lines if required. Enter it along with its exchange rate in the Multi-currency boxes in the header and on each applicable line. Secondary currency values will be converted to the totals currency using the exchange rate specified.  
   7. If there is a declaration certificate for the current consignment and at least one declaration certificate format has been selected, you can attach the document(s) as a PDF(s) to the sales invoice by checking Attach certificate. 
   8. If you wish to have the sales invoice transferred to Xero with an Authorised status rather than Draft, then check Complete and an email to the the client will be sent provided the client has his email address set up in his Xero Contact record.   
   9. A typical 'disbursement' invoice may look like this after editing;
   10. The Code for each line identifies the Xero Service (inventory) item code. You can choose the desired code from the list and the item's rate and description will be populated unless there was already some values for that line in the table.
   11. Add new lines by clicking on Add line or Add Rates buttons. The Add Rates button will load all the quoted rates that apply to the consignment based on the matching criteria. See Quoted Rates section for further details.
   12. A typical 'final' invoice may look like this after editing:
       
7. Click on the Submit button to submit the sales invoice and any costs invoice(s) to Xero.
8. Any documents for the consignment will be displayed with an option to archive them (both in Accord and Xero) with a further option to include them as attachments on the Xero sales invoice.
9. One sales invoice will be submitted and if a Creditor is specified then a cost invoice for each different creditor will also be submitted. If there is any validation error it will be displayed on screen and you will be able to modify it before trying to submit again. Similarly, successful submissions will be shown on screen.

You can select 'Submit' in the Action when Import Declaration is cleared to automatically submit this billing request when the import declaration for this consignment is next cleared or released. Note that any import declaration charges will be updated if necessary; further they will be added if not present to the billing request if it is the first billing request, ie the Sub-invoice no is blank. 

Alternatively, you can select 'Alert' in the Action when Import Declaration is cleared to set the consignment status to 'Alert' so that it appears at the top of the Consignments list automatically when this action occurs.

The Hold and Hold+Repeat buttons will save the billing request and you will be able to edit/submit it later manually, or have it automatically submitted later as described above. The Hold+Repeat button will open a new billing request rather than close the page.

You can View the Billing Request History by clicking on the View History button. Billing requests with a Hold status may be opened for editing and/or submitting from this page. 

You can Add or Modify the Billing Reference by clicking on Billing Reference button.

To view a profit report that includes the invoices created in Xero from billing requests, read How to View Billing Summary.